Attack of Your Friendly Neighbourhood Wizard Owl p
by MAB49
Summary: Okay, It's Christmas Eve and Nathan's Turn
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: In no way at all do I own, the Magnificent Seven or its characters (MGM does), or the characters from the Harry Potter universe (all bow to the Great-All-Knowing-Mistress J.K. Rowling). I am a lowly little person paying off a student loan (in other words, own nothing of value). Also, I've changed some stuff around. I have Tonks and Remus together at this time (Christmas), as well as other things as one familiar with the Harry Potter universe will note. I wrote this on my old laptop and that piece of junk won't work anymore, so I've tried to piece this story as best I can.

The Attack of your Friendly Neighbourhood Wizard Owl

MAB49

"Thanks for driving me here, Nathan," JD Dunne stated from the passenger seat of Nathan Jackson's Ford Explorer.

He and his fellow ATF agent were driving to the home of Ezra Standish. They had seen Ezra off on a plane to England—to which he had dragged his feet going tot was something about how he did not need an entourage to see him off—a few days previously. At first, they had voiced thoughts against this, seeing on how there were terrorist attacks in that country--and this was furthered when it was revealed that he had not bought a ticket--but

when he Southerner stated that he had promised Harry—the son of deceased friends—that he would go, they couldn't exactly refuse. Especially when they found out that Ezra's friends died when Harry was a baby, thus the latter having no memory of them. Ezra had promised that he would tell the boy some stories about them.

"No problem, JD," Nathan replied, breaking the younger agent's thoughts. "You know that I like going to Ez's place now that it seems more lived in, and not so much a shell, anymore."

"Yeah, and having Remus coming over a few times to tell what Ez was like as a kid must have also helped," JD chimed in.

"Yeah, makes me realise how human Ezra is. Losing his father's family like that.." Nathan shook his head at the memory of Remus' tale. "Then he comes over with that school banner that had a lion on it. I still can't believe that Ezra actually hung it in his bedroom. The den, I can believe, but his bedroom?"

Dunne shrugged. "I guess that Ez is learning to live more."

"He's still too concerned about 'appearances,' though."

A snort was heard from the youngest member of team seven. "Can you imagine him any other way?"

"Not really." The SUV drove onto the street of Ezra's townhouse. "So, how long will Ezra be in England for?"

"Two weeks," replied JD. "He's going to stay at his family's place while he's there."

"I thought that Remus and Ezra said—"

"No, no, his family's dead. But there's a caretaker of the estate," JD interrupted. 'Yeah, house-elves.'

"Estate? I knew that Ez had money, but not like that."

"Yeah." The computer hacker was now uncomfortable talking about his undercover agent friend so openly like that. Luckily Nathan noticed and took pity on JD. "Would you mind me going in with you? I like his plants, some of which I've not really seen anywhere else."

"Nope, I have no problem. You can feed Edgar," JD answered, knowing of the affinity that Nathan had with the half-kneazle. "Here we are."

They drove into the driveway of Ezra Standish's townhouse, parked it, got out and locked the doors behind them. As the duo neared the front door, JD took out the key and inserted it into the door lock. He turned the key and opened the door.

It was then that JD truly realised that Nathan meant. There were knick-knacks out and about, photos (some wizarding ones charmed to get them to remain still, some not), were displayed. The townhouse had even been decorated for the holiday season. Yes, it seemed that the transplanted Southerner, was letting his hair down a little. JD went into the kitchen to get the watering can and fill it up with water.

"Meow." Dunne looked down and saw Ezra's pet, Edgar. Like Dorchester, Edgar was part cat, part Kneazle (the two were brothers from the same litter).

"Hey, Edgar," he greeted as he knelt down to pet the feline. "You're taking care of the house I hope."

"Meow."

"Good boy." JD passed by Nathan as the latter went into the kitchen.

"Hi Edgar," said the EMT to the kneazle," How are you doing today?"

"Meow," Edgar replied as he rubbed up against Nathan. Jackson was one of his favourite people, after his own pet, that is.

"Ready for some food?" Nathan asked as he opened up a cupboard door.

"Meow." Edgar sat down by his food dish.

Nathan brought out a can of tuna and opened it. He wrapped the lid in a paper towel and threw it into the garbage. He then opened the cutlery drawer and retrieved a fork from it. Moving to the food dish, he forked out the food. Edgar waited patiently until Nathan put every morsel into the dish before going in to eat. Nathan sat down on the floor and petted the furry creature.

"Yeah, you're a cute one."

Edgar just licked his lips.

*****

JD was humming Christmas songs to himself as he watered Ezra's plants. He was partially glad that Ezra would be spending time with his friends in England, but a part of him wished that he could spend Christmas day in Denver with the team. JD shook his head. At least Standish lived here and had no plans to move away. He didn't think that he would be able to take it if the undercover agent left for England for good. They were family, and family was there for everyone.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..." Dunne sang under his breath as he walked up the stairs to the landing to water more plants. "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh." He should really play some Christmas music and turn on the Christmas tree lights before he and Nathan left. JD thought back to last week when Ezra enlisted the team's 'services' in order to get a tree back to the townhouse. They had used Chris' Dodge Ram to transport the tree and set it up in the living room, whereupon ornaments and lights (which had been bought the night before) were hung, cider and hot chocolate consumed, and laughter filled the air.

Tap, tap tap.

The noise broke JD out of his happy memory. He moved to the landing window, glanced outside and opened the it. A cold brown owl flew in.

"Whoo, whoo."

"Hi, Eustache," JD greeted Ezra's owl, as he took the letter the bird of prey clutched. "You must be freezing!"

"Whoo," replied Eustache e, agreeing with the young agent.

JD opened up the letter. "Okay, it's a reminder to collect the paper and mail and put them in his potions lab." He shrugged. "Okay."

"Whoo, whoo."

"Shh! Nathan's here! I'll get you some owl treats from the cupboard and--" Dunne heard noise below "What the?" He put down the watering can and ran downstairs.

*****

"I hate Death Eaters!" Harry seethed, as he came out--or rather, tripped out-- of the fireplace

"Whoa! Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed as he came out next. "How did they ever find out about Grimmauld Place?"

"I don't know, maybe a death eater saw where we came in and figured it out from there."

"This is a nice place," Ginny said as she came out.

"That bites," Fred mused as he entered the living room next. "And it's Christmas, too"

Ron's face fell. "Our presents."

"Not to worry," George said as he tumbled out, "Fred and I shrunk the presents that were under the tree before coming over here." He put a hand into his pocket and pulled out a miniature present. "See?"

"That's bloody brilliant!"

"Oh, oh," Ginny said as she looked elsewhere. They followed her gaze and saw someone looking straight back at them.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Nathan demanded.

"Well..." Harry drew out.

"Bloody Death Eaters! I wish that I could kill every one of them!"

"Ezra?!?" Nathan couldn't believe it. "How did you get here? You're supposed to be in England!" Nathan exclaimed. "And did you just come from the fireplace?!?"

"Talk about cutting it close," Tonks said as she came out into the living room, stumbling into George. "Sorry."

"No problem."

"Ezra!" Remus called out, "Can we close the floo temporarily?

Ezra gingerly walked to Remus. "It's the floo system, Remus, no."

"Why?" Ginny asked. "Do you think that any Death Eater heard where we were going? We did put up a silencing charm after we went into the room. Could they have heard, anyway?"

Remus shook his head. "I don't think that they could have, but I asked anyway. Better to be safe than to be sorry."

"Ezra?" Everyone looked to who had said that. JD came towards them. "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Nathan yelled.

"Death—err, terrorists came to London," Harry explained. "We got away from where it was taking place before coming here."

"I didn't hear about any of that! It hasn't been mentioned on the TV or radio!" Nathan replied. "And who are you?"

"Hello," Remus greeted. "These are some friends of ours. This lovely woman is Nymphadora Tonks."

"Wotcher. It's nice to meet you!"

"The twins are Fred and George, and we also have their younger brother and sister, Ron and Ginny."

"And I'm Harry," Potter said has he looked over the irritated older man. "And you are?"

"God damned confused is what I am!" Nathan turned to Ezra while JD let out a snicker. "How the hell did you get out of your fireplace? And what the hell are you wearing? It's Christmas that's coming up, not Halloween!"

"Hey, you got new robes!" JD exclaimed.

"And you're in pain," Nathan continued as if he had not been interrupted.

"You won't be able to do anything about this," the undercover agent stated.

"The hell I can't! JD, you get the first aid kit," Jackson ordered the FBI agent as he grabbed Ezra's arm with the intention of leading the Southerner to the couch. JD was hesitant about getting it when he heard Nathan exclaim "What the hell?!?!"

Everyone in the room winced at the sight of a brown owl swooping down onto the EMT.

"Hoot! Hoot!" was heard as Eustache swooped at Nathan once more.

"Eustache! No!" JD yelled as he pulled Nathan out of the owl's path. "He's a friend! He's an EMT! He only wants to help Ezra!"

"The healer," Harry said aloud. "You must be Nathan."

"Yes," the paramedic confirmed as he saw the owl land table beside JD. "How on earth did an owl get in here?

"He's Ezra's owl. We use them for OwlPost," Harry replied.

"OwlPost?"

"It's the mail service in the wizarding world," Ron added.

"Ron!" Remus exclaimed.

"He's the healer, Moony! He's supposed to know!"

"We don't know for certain!"

"So what happened?" JD asked

"Death Eaters attacked Grimmauld Place--where headquarters was--so we flooed over here. It's the safest place considering that they somehow found out about where we were."

Nathan took in Harry's explanation. "Flooed?"

"A form of …transport, if you will Mr. Jackson. The ability to go from one place to another," Remus clarified.

"Kind of like Star Trek."

"So how exactly does one use the fireplace to get from one place to another?" Nathan automatically asked "Wait a minute? What am I saying?!? You can't go from one fireplace to another! This is a dream! A bad dream! I'll wake up next to Rain in a minute." He sat down on the couch.

Remus felt for the ATF agent. But, could it be that Harry and Ron were right? Could Harry be the healer that Ezra spoke of in his prediction not too long ago? Looking at Ezra who had gravitated to the couch, he remembered what had happened. "JD, could you please get a potion for Ezra? He suffering from the effects of the Cruciatus curse."

Dunne's eyes went wide open at this. "I 'll find it! Be back soon!" With that, he left the room.

Remus gazed at the children--teenagers, really--and saw them looking around the room. He then looked to Tonks, who only nodded. Lupin drew in a breath as he moved to sit down in a chair. "The floo is connected to a network. Certain fireplaces are linked to the network and we just go from one place to another."

"Kind of like Star Trek again," Harry added. "But not quite."

"But not quite." Nathan looked at Dunne and said with a pointed finger, "You do realise that you're talking nonsense, right? Talking nonsense in my dream.."

"I'm afraid that this is no dream, Mr. Jackson," Ezra painfully said. "What we are telling you is quite the truth."

"See, I knew that you'd say that! My subconscious even got the, 'Mr. Jackson,' right!"

"Nathan, there is a world that is both a part of, and is separate from the world that you know so well," Remus began. "There are witches and wizards that live alongside you, around you--"

"It's not working, Remus," Tonks said, as she stood beside the chair.

"No, there are witches about, I get that," Nathan said.

"Or, I could be wrong."

"Not the kind that you're thinking of, Nathan," Ezra countered. "Real witches who use wands and go to magic schools."

"Yeah, right!"

"No, mate," George began.

"It's true!" Fred ended "Where do you think that we went?"

"To a school in England."

"Scotland," several voiced corrected.

"Whatever!" yelled Nathan.

"Whoo!" Eustache interrupted, not liking the commotion.

"There's no such thing as magic!" Jackson continued

Harry inadvertently shuddered, thinking of his Uncle Vernon saying the same thing, when the former was a young child.

"I've got it!" a voice was heard, accompanied with footsteps pounding on the stairs. JD ran into the living room, stopping at the couch, and handed a bottle to his robed friend. "Here."

Standish took the bottle, popped the cork off and downed the substance inside. He made a face as he finished. "That is vile."

"No kidding," mumbled Ron.

"So, what did I miss?"

Nathan got up off the couch and began pacing. "These... people! They're trying to convince me that magic is real, that there are wizards and witches, and that there are schools in Scotland to teach that stuff!"

"Well, one really. The others in Europe are Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are the other schools in Europe," said JD.

Nathan stopped and stared at JD. "You gotta be kidding me."

JD shook his head. "No! I went to Salem Academy, myself."

Nathan made a face of disbelief. "So you're what?"

"A wizard, Nathan," Remus answered. "With the exception of Ginny and Tonks who are witches, we're all wizards."

"Okay, this is what I think. I think that after the holidays, I will go to the department shrink and ask for him to set up appointments with you--all of you!"

"He's one of those, I see," commented Ginny.

"Who's like to do the honours?" George said with a grin.

JD got out his wand. "Accio Edgar!"

"Meeooow!" The next think everyone saw, was Edgar flying through the air into JD's arms. "Hiss!" was Edgar's response to being is said arms. The feline jumped onto the floor and went onto the couch to sit beside Ezra. Ezra petted the half-kneazle.

Standish sighed. "Must you have done that?"

JD shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to mind."

Nathan's focus was now on Edgar. "That didn't happen."

"Can anyone think of anything else?" Harry asked.

"I know. Can someone apparate?"

"Someone apparate! I'm going to fire-call Professor Dumbledore to make sure that he's all right. Those Death Eaters should never have been able to find us, with the Fidelius intact."

"Maybe, they found us by accident. Or does anyone have a tracking charm on them?" Ron asked.

Everyone except Nathan went pale at this, and used their wands to check each other. All heads shook negative.

"Call him and tell him everything," Remus said.

"Wait! We have to call Mom and Dad in Romania!" Fred exclaimed.

"We'll do that after telling the Professor," Ezra said calmly.

Remus got up and went to the fireplace. He grabbed some floo powder. "Professor Dumbledore's office!"

Ezra moved on the couch, causing Edgar to move to the back of it. "Well, Christmas at Grimmauld is out. How would you, young adults, enjoy a small vacation at my abode for the next two weeks?"

"The one outside Norwich?" asked Harry, knowing that his parents' friend was offering the one that they were currently in.

"No, this one of course. We can transfigure several items into beds."

"Bloody brilliant! Our first vacation in America! This is great!" shouted Ron.

"That's if Mom and Dad agrees," cautioned Ginny.

Nathan, meanwhile was looking at the fireplace, wondering where Remus's head disappeared to. "Uh, Ez?"

"Yes, Mr. Jackson?"

"Where's his head?"

"Oh, he's just talking to Professor Dumbledore, right now. He'll be back in a few minutes," Ezra replied casually.

"Ookay." And with that, Nathan went back to starring at Remus's form.

"Well, if we're staying here..." With that, the twins moved to the Christmas tree, put their hands into their pockets and retrieved the gifts that they had shrunk. They stepped back. "Engorgio!"

Nathan heard this and went to view them. He saw the gifts grow in size. "Oh boy."

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" said Tonks as she disappeared before Nathan's eyes.

"Hey, where did she go?"

"I'm here." Nathan turned around and found the pink-haired Auror. "Uh..."

"I think we broke him," Fred whispered.

"Wizards and witches, huh?"

"Wizards and witches," JD confirmed.

"Okay, we know why the Fidelius failed," Remus announced, as he came out of the fireplace. "It's caused by the curse that Voldemort placed on the Gaunt ring."

"Oh dear," Ezra said, contemplating the consequences of the curse.

"He'll fire-call Arthur and Molly in Romania and suggested that perhaps we could stay here for the holidays."

"We were just discussing that," Tonks said.

"I have five bedrooms in my abode, that should be enough with some sharing."

"Wizards and witches," Nathan mumbled as he sat down on the floor.

"Yep," JD confirmed.

"Do I want to know?" Remus asked. Tonks shook her head.

Riinngg

Everyone turned to where the noise was coming from.

Nathan.

Jackson went into his coat pocket and retrieved his cellular phone. "Hello? Hi, Chris... No, I'm fine... No, really, I'm fine... No, I'm fine... I'm just sitting in Ez's house talking to him... No, he's here. Him, Remus, a woman with pink hair and some teenagers... No, really, they're here right now." He held out the phone. "Ez? Chris wants to speak to you."

Ezra got off the couch to where his friend was seated. He took the offered cellphone. "Hello, Mr. Larabee... No, everything is all right. Nothing is amiss... Remus and Tonks were going to surprise me by coming over here, so I spent a week in London, and now we are here... The teenagers? The children of some friends of ours. We will be taking them on a skiing trip for the New Year's holiday... Nothing to my knowledge. Oh, we could not possibly do that, Mr. Larabee... No, it is much too late to get extra anything! One moment please." Ezra covered the phone "What is it that you are going on about?" he asked Tonks.

Tonks, who had been using her hands to get Ezra's attention, put them down. "What is he saying?"

"He wishes for us to come to his residence for Christmas, which we obviously cannot."

"Yes, we can," Tonks countered as she grabbed the phone from Ezra. "Hello, Mr. Larabee? My name is Nymphadora Tonks--but please call me Tonks... We'd be delighted to come over tomorrow! Which time would you like for us to arrive at?... Anytime? Works for for us!..." Everyone looked incredulously at Tonks as she related the kids' ages to Chris and gave the phone back to Nathan. "There, after unwrapping gifts, we'll get ready and go on over to his place."

JD smirked. "You better rent a van, Ez, your Porsche only fits two people."

"I will endeavour to take that under advisement."

""Why is it that no one knows about your... your... stuff?"

"If by 'stuff,' you mean the wizarding world, it is because it's kept secret," Remus confirmed. "However, we do have confidence in you that you will keep it secret--and not abuse your friendship with Ezra because of it!"

This shook Nathan up. "Of course, I wouldn't! I value my friendship with Ez!"

"Good!"

"So, I won't tell anyone about this."

"We would appreciate that," Ezra stated.

"Okay, now I have to leave. I have some more presents to buy."

"You really don't have to buy us any presents, " Ginny put forth.

"Speak for yourself," Ron murmured to Harry

"Yes, I do," Nathan countered. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going shopping and afterwards, I'll have a breakdown as I absorb this information!" With that, the ATF agent left the house.

"I'll see you later, Ez!" JD said as he ran after his friend, as he remembered that they drove in together. "Nathan!" The front door slammed shut behind him.

Silence

The quiet that followed was interrupted by George. "Well that was entertaining."


	2. Chapter 2

Once more, I do not own Harry Potter or the Magnificent Seven. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I hope to do better in the next one.

Harry laid awake on his transfigured bed, in one of the rooms of Ezra Standish's townhouse. It was early Christmas morning--3:17, according to the digital clock in the room. Sounds of loud snoring were emanating from the next bed over, the culprit being a red-haired Ron Weasley. He had tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. Too much had happened in the last twenty-four hours for his mind to sleep. A part of him felt furious that the death-eaters had control of number 12 Grimmauld Place. It had belonged to Sirius and those...people, had no business sullying the house with their presence (although the portrait of Mrs. Black, would love the death-eaters being in control). But on the other hand, he felt relieved that they ('they' being Ezra, Remus, Tonks, the twins, Ron, Ginny and himself) were the only one present of the light, at Grimmauld when it happened; that no one had been killed.

After Nathan and JD had left, Ezra had received a firecall from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Having heard from Professor Dumbledore about what had happened, they quickly decided to see for themselves, if their children and Harry--as well as the others--were all right. After responding affirmative, the elder Weasley's were making plans to come back, when Ezra intervened. Remus had been right; Ezra could make a conversation or decision go his way. Standish had convinced everyone that parental figures of the red-haired clan, were perfect where they were, and that the kids would have a wonderful time experiencing an American Christmas. Besides, they had been invited to spend Christmas day with his colleagues, to which Tonks had accepted on their behalf. And Mrs. Weasley had to agree, that it would be impolite to renege on an invitation already accepted. Molly reluctantly agreed and demanded that the group firecall her, after they finished unwrapping the gifts. It was soon afterwards that Ezra and Remus went to rent a van for them to travel in, in order to travel to Mr. Larabee's ranch. The others went to Ascott Place to get groceries, as well as clothes, accessories and other essentials (which Ezra insisted on paying for).

Everyone was amazed by Ascott Place. What they liked most, was the fact that they had a mall in it as well, so everything was close together. Ron liked Max's Candy Corner, and dragged Harry there. Unlike Honeydukes, Max's had both wizarding and muggle candy. Using some of Harry's money, they bought quite a bit. Clothes shopping was also a must. The ladies had gone their own way, with instructions to meet at O'Kelly's Irish Pub at 2pm local time. Ezra and Remus had finished their business at the car rental agency sooner then they thought, so they had gone looking for the group and found the male teenagers at Keegan's Broomsticks and Supplies. The older men, 'enticed' the younger folk to look for clothes and other essentials that would be needed.

They had gone to Petal's Robe Emporium, which had both wizarding and muggle clothing (the latter a more recent addition). After being wardrobed in everything from underwear to coats and snowpants, to shirts and sweaters, to socks and pants, they decided to buy some gifts for Team Seven, of whom they would be meeting tomorrow.

It had been wormed out of Ezra, that Nathan would probably tell the team about the kids and therefore, the American team would buy gifts for them. Harry hoped that they chose the right things that Team Seven would like. Then the groceries...

"You think too much, Harry."

Harry turned around to face Ron's bed. The redhead was semi-awake. "What are you doing up?" Harry asked.

"The question is, what are you doing up?" Ron countered.

"Nothing. Just--"

"Thinking," Weasley finished. The redhead manoeuvred until he was able to lean on an arm. "You're thinking of everything that's happened. Sure death-eaters came to headquarters, but look on the bright side, we're alive."

"True." Silence. "Do you think that Ezra's friends will like what we got them?"

"Yeah. At least, I hope so." Ron sighed "Harry, just try to sleep for a couple of hours," Weasley counselled. "Remember, we're here for a visit. The muggles will notice that something is wrong, if Ezra is right. Just, try to forget about yesterday. Especially that mammoth shopping experience."

"You're right. Night, Ron."

"Night, Harry."

*****

"Time to get up!" Ezra opened one squinted eye towards the light streaming though the curtains. It was a little after 10am, Denver time (at least, if his watch was to be believed). Despite the fact that he did not want to, he got up--after all, it took a little more time to get ready with eight people vying for the bathroom at the same time.

"Ezra!"

"I'm coming" he yelled back, putting a dressing robe on himself. He stretched his arms and back for a bit, before opening the door and proceeded down the hall. He could hear the commotion down the stairs. 'Oh, Lord," was all he could think.

Remus stood at the bottom of the stairs, with a cup of coffee for the transplanted Southerner. "Happy Christmas, Ezra."

"Happy Christmas, Remus," Ezra replied, taking the cup. He tepidly took a sip. "Oh, this is heavenly."

"I hope you don't mind that we made tea for ourselves."

"Never, my friend. My kitchen is your kitchen."

They moved to sit on a couple of chairs (which had recently been transfigured from coasters), before Remus nodded to George, to start passing out the parcels. "This one is to Ron, from Harry."

"Whoa, it's big!" the quidditch mad teenager said.

"Not too, big," Harry retorted.

With a smile, Ron quickly unwrapped his gift. "Risk? What is this?"

"It's a muggle game of strategy, Ron. You try to dominate the world by placing your troops in various countries--"

"Kind of like Voldemort and Grindelwald." Ron interrupted.

Harry made a face. "Honestly, Ron, I never even thought of that."

"Think of it as military strategy, Mr. Weasley," Ezra counselled.

"Ezra..." Remus warned.

"However, you never heard this from me."

Ron smiled. "Cool. Thanks, Harry."

"You're welcome, Ron."

"This one is to you, Ezra," George said, as he handed out the next package.

Ezra quickly opened it, finding a book, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard? I have not read this since I was a child. Thank-you, Ginny."

Ginny blushed.

"Next is Harry."

Harry took the nicely wrapped present. He opened it to find... "A cell-phone?"

"Yes," replied Ezra. "I've gifted several to various people. They are charmed to work in the wizarding world and are licensed under American and European ministries."

"Ahem,"

Standish turned to Remus. "And that includes the UK ministry. I used some contacts to make the muggle authorities to insist upon it."

"Cool," George said. "It seems that Ron got one as well."

"I did?" Ron looked for the package. "I did! Well, at least it's the same size. And what's a cellphone?"

"It's a device used to talk to someone by pressing a few numbered buttons," Remus answered. He turned to his friend. "Have you thought about this?"

Ezra nodded. "According to Mr. Dunne, I made some... comments--if you will--a month ago, and this is the best response we came up with."

"There's firecall, flooing and owlpost," Ginny offered.

"I work in a muggle building, Ginny," countered Standish. "And owl post takes some time to arrive here."

"There's one here for Moony," George noted.

"And Ginny," Fred went on.

"And Gred."

"And Forge."

"Thanks," they said in unison.

"I also took the liberty to send one to Miss Granger," the English-born Southerner commented.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because each one if you is the future. You all matter. If I can help out in something--or if any one of you can help the other, then it makes things right."

"Thank-you," Harry said.

"You are welcome." Ezra shifted to pull the garbage bag from beside him. "It is a Motorola, so it has better reception than most phones. It has been charmed to contain an unlimited charge. And I am also paying for the plans."

"Think of these as being used in emergencies only," Remus cautioned."

"Well, to us maybe," Ezra conceded. "However, during the summer months, they are free to phone each other. I gather that the Dursley's dislike owlpost?"

Everyone nodded.

"There. Now that everyone knows what they have received from me, you are most welcome to open them up."

The Weasley's looked at each other, before grabbing their presents and tore them open.

"Cool, mine's silver."

"Mine's black."

"I have black, too," Ron called out.

"I have... pink?" Ginny had a questioning look on her face, bordering on not-quite-distaste.

"This way, it is less likely that your brothers will touch yours," the undercover agent explained.

Fred and George grinned.

"Hey, Ron," began Fred.

"Why don't you," George continued.

"Pass your phone..."

"Over here?"

Ron clutched his phone, tightly. "No thank-you."

And it went from there. One by one the presents were opened, with everyone liking their gifts. Ron eventually warmed up to Risk, as he opened it and saw what it entailed. "Wicked," was how he put it. Harry felt better when he heard this. The two began playing.

"Okay," Remus yelled over the ruckus, as Ezra went upstairs to get ready. "It's time to firecall your parents." He then went into the kitchen to begin cooking a light breakfast with Tonks.

"Oh, right," Ginny said as she got up off the floor, surrounded by her booty. She went over to the fireplace, and took some powder from the container on the mantel. She yelled, "The Dragon's Den," then proceeded to stick her head into the magical fire. She was there for a few minutes before coming out. "George, Mom wants to talk to you."

"Okay." George got up and repeated his sister's actions. He too, stayed in the fireplace for a few minutes before calling his twin over.

"What? They want to talk to each of us?" Ron asked his sister.

"Yes," Ginny confirmed. "And to wish us a Happy Christmas."

"Did you tell them about the phone?" Ron furthered, not wanting to give his up.

Ginny nodded. "They want to talk to Ezra about that."

"But he's in the bathroom." Silence. "I hope we get to keep them."

"It's an expensive gift, Ron," Harry pointed out.

Ron pondered this. "Is this charity?" he finally asked, feeling a tad insulted about the gift.

Harry shook his head. "No, I think he really meant what he said. And I think he knows."

The red-haired siblings looked at their friend. "Know what, Harry?"

"I never told him, maybe Moony did, but... I think he knows how the Dursley's treat me."

Ron and Ginny looked at one another. "How exactly do they treat you, Harry?" Ginny inquired. "You've never really said. I just know from what Ron said about the bars being put on your window."

"No, I haven't. And I don't think that I'm going to start now."

"Harry..."

"Ron," Harry said shortly. "It's Christmas. I really don't want to talk about the Dursley's now."

The siblings shrugged, hoping that their friend would talk to someone soon. This just made them want to increase their efforts, to get Harry from his relatives sooner, in the summertime.

"Ron!"

"All right, I'm coming!" He turned to his friend. "Wish me luck."

*****

Ezra came out of the bathroom, showered and shaved. "The bathroom is free," he called out.

Tonks came up the stairs. "I'm just going to get my things from the bedroom. Ron, Harry and the twins are playing Risk."

Ezra nodded. "That will keep them busy for a while."

Tonks snorted. "According to Remus, that game can go on for hours. How people can play the game for that long..."

"Quite easily, I'm told."

Tonks only shook her head. "Breakfast is ready. Oh, and Molly wants you to firecall her."

"It is about the cellular phones, correct?"

"That would be my guess," Tonks replied, as she went into the bedroom she shared with Remus.

Ezra sighed. 'I will call her tomorrow,' he thought as he went into his own room to change.

*****

"Hello, Ezra," Remus greeted, holding another cup of coffee that day, for his friend. "Molly--"

"Wishes to receive a firecall from myself," Ezra finished, as he took the cup. "Yes, Miss. Tonks, informed me of such. I will deem to call her tomorrow."

Lupin snorted. "If she'll last that long."

"Well, I refuse to take them back."

"Thank-you for the thoughtful gift, Ezra," Ginny said.

"You are most welcome, Miss. Weasley."

"Up for some breakfast?" Fred asked.

Standish looked over the choices on his kitchen table, before picking up a carrot muffin.

"What? No eggs, or bacon or sausage?" asked an affronted Ron.

"No, Mr. Weasley; a muffin will suffice until we arrive at Mr. Larabee's. There is sure to be some candy, as well as a substantial-sized turkey," Ezra replied.

"Suit yourself," Ron said, as he put into his mouth, another forkful of eggs. Harry and the others, could only smile at this, knowing how Ron valued his food.

"Remus has been teaching us how to use the sell-phones," Fred put in.

"No, it's 'cell' phones," Harry corrected. "'C,' 'E,' 'L,' 'L.' Not, sell-phones."

"Oh, well, 'sell-phones' made more sense," Fred murmured.

Harry only smiled at this.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay now, what are the rules? Ezra Standish asked, while driving the rented van to Chris Larabee's ranch, outside of Denver.

"No talking about the wizarding world," Harry said.

"And?"

"This is especially about Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic, and Dad's job," Ginny recited from memory.

"And?"

"If they ask what Dad does, we're to say that he's a silly servant--" Ron said

"That's CIVIL servant!"

"--in the British government," Ron continued, as if he had not been interrupted.

"Yeah, in the department of... defence!"

"But only say that if they ask," Remus reminded them. "Otherwise, don't say anything at all!"

"Anything else?" Ezra prompted the teenagers.

"No playing pranks on them," Fred pouted.

"And?"

"If you mess up, try to cover it up."

"That is not quite what I was looking for..." Standish murmured.

"But that's good enough," Remus said.

"Ezra, why did you have us bring our snowpants?" Harry inquired.

"There is a hill on Mr. Larabee's property, that we may be able to toboggan down," Ezra replied.

"Is that what those things are, strapped on top?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Ron. I hear they're fun," Harry answered, thinking of the storybooks that he had read in school.

"That sounds good," Tonks stated, looking forward to partaking in muggle activities.

"Indeed. We may even warm up afterwards in front of the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate," Ezra continued.

"Can't wait," George said.

Silence

"So, are we there yet?"

*****

"Ez, Remus and the kids should be here, soon," Nathan said, as put some candies into the Christmas sock, that he was holding.

"So, this Tonks that spoke to you on the phone? What did she sound like?" Buck asked Chris.

"She sounded British," Larabee answered.

"Lay off her, Buck!" JD put in. "She's dating Remus."

"Oh." Silence "Okay, she's off limits."

Vin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you actually saying, that you're leaving a woman alone?"

"I wouldn't do that to Remus," Buck defended himself. "Besides, she's probably all prim and proper. Maybe she's a librarian or teacher like him."

Nathan snorted at this, having met Tonks. "Yeah, like many librarians or teachers have pink hair."

"She has pink hair?!?" Wilmington exclaimed. "Whoa, I'd never think of that of Remus. I guess you do have to look out for the quiet ones."

"She's also a cop," JD added.

"How do you know that, Brother JD?"

"Remus told me," JD covered, knowing that he couldn't very well say, "Because she told me, when I first met her at the Leaky Cauldron in London." He put down a package in front of the tree. "That's a big turkey you put in the oven, Chris. Where'd you get one that big, this late in the game?"

"Nettie had one that she let me have. Josiah, what are treacle tarts?"

"They're a type of tart, that's popular in the U.K. Why?" Josiah answered.

" Ez said on the phone before the left, that he was bringing a couple of dozen with him. He said that the kids loved them and that maybe we would, too."

Arnie, the old labrador retriever that Chris had, was walking around the room trying to get bits of candy from the team members present.

"Is it me, or is Arnie more active today?" Buck inquired.

"You noticed that, too?" Chris mused. "It's like he knows we're having a big gathering today."

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!" Arnie barked, as he ran for the front door and began dancing.

"They're here!" Vin announced, looking out the window.

They all rushed to the window to see the silver van park by Buck's truck.

"Chris, can we go sledding down the hill, later on?" JD asked, observing the toboggans on the van's roof.

"That would be a good idea."

Ezra Standish appeared to be choreographing everyone's decent from the van. The team could see bags and boxes, being carried by various people. Both groups walked towards the door.

"Woof! Woof!"

Chris opened the door, and Arnie raced outside, weaving between the teenagers and adults outside.

"Arnie! Get back over here!"

"Arnie! Down!" Ezra demanded, as the black lab jumped on him. Arnie listened, but ran around, eventually following Remus inside."

"What a lovely dog you have, Chris."

"He's usually not this lively. Arnie! Sit down!"

The Weasley's came in next.

"Our dad is a silly servant working for the British government in the department of defence!" Ron announced to everyone in the room.

Silence.

The next thing heard was the whack that occurred between Ron's head, and Fred's hand.

"Oookay," Vin said.

"Ron, you're stupid!" George exclaimed to his brother.

"I am not! I get okay marks in school, though po--kem - is - try, isn't my best class."

Ginny shook her head. "Sorry about Ron," she apologised as she held out her hand. "Jetlag."

"Been there, done that, have the t-shirt," Vin replied as he shook her hand. "Vin Tanner."

"Ginny Weasley." She held up a bag. "Where can I put this?"

Chris went over and took the package. "I'll take that. You take off your boots and give your coat to one of the boys."

"Here are some presents," Fred said, holding a box-full of gifts.

"And some more presents," George added, as he too, held a box-full of gifts.

"And some... well, you get the drift," Ron mentioned.

JD took Ron's box and leaned in. "You're trying too hard," he whispered to the redhead.

Ron nodded. "Sorry."

"I'll take this," Buck said, taking Fred's package. Nathan made for George's package. The boxes were brought to the Christmas tree and emptied of their gifts.

"Here, let me take your coats," Josiah said, holding onto Ginny's coat. Ron's and the twins were added, before he left to put them away. Vin stayed behind, holding Remus' coat.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" Tonks called out, as she took off her knitted hat.

'My god, she does have pink hair!' Wilmington thought, as he walked back to the newly arrived group.

Vin took Ezra and Tonks' outerwear, after the two had removed their footwear. Everyone (except Vin) were now congregating in the living room. Harry walked over and stared at the Christmas tree. A real tree, that had lights, tinsel, garland and ornaments--all kinds of ornaments. It wasn't a 'show' tree (which is how he thought of Aunt Petunia's Christmas tree), but a 'lived' tree, representing everyone on team seven.

Ezra had told them on the way over, of how every year, the team got the tree, put the ornaments on the tree, and told stories of how the got the ornaments. He mentioned of how he got JD a death star ornament from Star Wars (which had prompted Ron to mention that he had seen it on Harry's dvd player). Standish had told them of how he felt like part of a real family--that he was truly part of the team--after his first Christmas in Denver.

"I take it that you like the tree?" Josiah asked, making Harry jump a bit. "Sorry for alarming you, but you seemed intent on the tree."

Harry nodded. "It's a very nice tree. Ezra said that it's taken from Mr. Larabee's property?"

Sanchez nodded. "We all agree on the tree. It's usually the one we take, after we start bickering how cold it is."

Harry laughed at this.

"Josiah Sanchez."

"Harry Potter."

"Ah, so you're young Mr. Potter. How are you enjoying the U.S. so far?"

"I've only been here for a day and a half, but it's good so far. We're supposed to go skiing later on in the week."

"Really? Where?"

"Aspen," Standish answered. "A friend of mine has a chalet there, that he has graciously loaned for a few days."

"That was mighty kind of him."

"Indeed," the undercover agent mused. "Drinks are being served in the kitchen, Harry."

"Thanks, Ezra. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Sanchez."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

The young wizard left for the kitchen.

Ezra moved closer to Josiah. "Mr. Sanchez, you will not profile Mr. Potter or any other of my guests."

"Ezra, I--"

"I know that you will not intentionally profile, but once you find something interesting, you do not let go."

Josiah was hurt that Ezra would think this of him. However, his friend was correct to a certain extent (no matter how much he wanted to deny it). On the other hand, it intrigued him that Ezra (and he also assumed that Remus, Tonks--was it?)would also be as protective of the children.

"Josiah..." Standish warned.

The profiler held up both hand. "I give you my word, that I won't profile anyone."

"Excellent," Ezra stated, showing his gold tooth, as he smiled. "Now, shall we enter the kitchen for some drinks?"

Josiah smiled back. Peace between them was what he wanted. "Lead the way, Brother Ezra."

*****

"Now that we're all accounted for," began Remus. "I would like to introduce the young ones."

"And young we are," stated Gred.

"So very young," added Forge.

"It was just a few years ago that we were toilet trained."

"And that it was just last year, little Ginny was born."

Everyone who knew the twins just rolled their eyes.

Team Seven had a laugh.

"These kids have a sense of humour--I like them already!" exclaimed Buck.

George and Fred looked at each other and grinned, before remembering the rule about not playing pranks on Team Seven.

Arnie, meanwhile, was pitter-pattering all around the kitchen, wanting to be petted by all the wizards--especially Remus.

"This duo, are infamous Fred and George Weasley."

"Hello," they said in unison.

"The redhaired young man--starring at the package of treacle tarts--is Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you."

Vin gave a way, correctly assuming that he found a fellow who liked food, just as much as himself.

"This young lady, is Miss. GInny Weasley."

"Thank-you for having us over today, Sir."

Chris smiled. "It's nothing at all. Oh, and it's Chris, not 'Sir.' Not even these guys call me 'Sir.' Well, except Ezra every once in a while."

"This lovely young woman by me is the love of my life, Nymphadora Tonks--but call her Tonks."

"Okay," JD said, thinking that it must be a pureblood name. Tonks smiled at him.

"Well, you know that my name is Chris, and this is Buck Wilmington," Chris introduced.

Buck gave them all a wide grin. "Nice to meet you all!"

"This curly haired fellow is Vin Tanner,"

"Howdy," drawled Vin.

"The big guy next to him is our profiler, Josiah Sanchez."

"I'm glad that you could make it," Josiah said honestly.

"And you've met JD and Nathan."

Both men put up their hand and said their hellos.

"What are treacle tarts?" Vin asked, wondering why Ron was starring at the package so.

"Treacle tarts are absolutely amazing!" Ron exclaimed.

"I have to agree," Harry put in.

"It's a popular dessert dish, in the U.K." Ezra answered.

"Oh. Can we have some?"

"Vin, it's a dessert," Nathan pointed out. "You wait until *after* supper to eat it."

"But I may be too full, to enjoy it then."

Ron's eyes went wide. "Yes, I totally agree! We must have a piece now!"

"Okay, okay!" Chris acquiesced. He pointed to a pile of paper plates on the counter.

"And you know where the knives are," Ezra added. At Vin's questioning look he added, "It's a pie that has to be cut."

Vin nodded. "Well Ron, let's get some."

"Yeah!"

Chris shook his head. We'll meet you in the living room."


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I don't own the part of the Screaming Hags. I read it somewhere and can't remember where, or else I would have contacted the author and requested usage of it. It is cool, though.

*****

"This is good stuff," Vin Tanner voiced (albeit a bit muffled, due to food being in his mouth at the time).

"Yeah," Ron Weasley agreed in the same fashion.

"And Ez made these?"

"Well, yeah for the most part," Ron replied. "Him, Remus and Tonks took turns."

"They're damn good cooks."

"Hey guys!" Chris called from the doorway. Vin and Ron looked up from the table. "We're opening presents now. You coming or what?"

"We're comin' pard, hold your horses," Vin said, bringing his plate and fork to the living room. Ron did likewise.

It seemed as though the adults settled in the chair and couches, so Ron sat on the floor by Harry, near the fireplace. He looked around the room. Ginny was settled on the floor near Ezra, who was sitting on a stuffed chair. The twins were by the Christmas tree, pointing out ornaments on the tree to one another. Tonks and Remus were sitting on one couch, holding hands (although Arnie was on the other side of Remus, begging to be petted whenever the werewolf attempted to cease doing so). Chris was on the other couch, with Josiah, and Buck. The guy who Eustache attacked yesterday (Nathan, he remembered), was seated on a wooden chair. Vin and JD were on the other side of the tree.

"Just grab a present Vin and pass it to them," Chris ordered.

Vin nodded and took a present, and said, "This is for Ginny, from Nathan."

Ginny took the gift. "Thank-you, Nathan." Nathan nodded. Ginny uwrapped the gift to find a box. Upon opening the box, she took out a card. "Twenty-five dollar gift-card for Barnes & Noble. Thank-you."

"You're welcome."

Vin passed another gift. "To Ron, from Nathan."

"Thanks, Nathan!" Ron said, as he took the gift. He too, unwrapped it to find a box. Opening the box, he exclaimed, "I got twenty-five dollar gift-card for Barnes & Noble! Cool! What's Barnes & Noble?"

"It's a bookstore on this side of the pond, Mr. Weasley," Ezra answered.

Ron appeared aghast. "Books?!?"

"They have magazines and comics there, too."

"As well as books on chess," Ezra pointed out

"They do?" The Americans heads nodded. "Oh, thank-you."

Nathan shook his head at this.

Josiah smiled. "You like chess?" he asked. Ron nodded. "We'll have to play a game."

Ron grinned. "Cool."

Vin laughed, seeing Ron smile. He had no idea why, but he figured that Ron would give Josiah a run for his money. "Let's see now, to Harry from Nathan."

"You know, Vin, you can give out presents from other people, and not just Nathan," Buck pointed out.

Vin shrugged. "They're the nearest ones," was his reply, as he handed Harry the gift.

Harry unwrapped the gift and lifted the lid of the box. "A twenty-five dollar gift-card to Barnes & Noble. Thank-you, Nathan."

"I see a pattern, Brother Nathan," Josiah said, as he stroked his moustache.

Nathan appeared exasperated. "I got them something that they could pick out themselves."

"To Remus, from Josiah," Vin announced, as he handed the present to Remus. "See, not from Nathan." He stuck his tongue out at Buck.

Remus was trying to open up the gift--'trying,' being the operative word, as Arnie was after said present. Chris was amused and surprised by his dog's antics. The old geeser of a dog was acting like a playful pup.

"Arnie, please try to be polite," Remus admonished. The black lab quieted down, but looked as though his feelings were hurt. The werewolf petted Arnie. "But you're a good boy." Arnie got up and licked Remus' face. Team seven's eyes went wide open at this. With the exception of Ezra and Chris, that old dog kept his distance and refused to be petted or played with by anyone. "The Philosophy of Monty Python", as well as an Inspector Morse novel. That is quite kind of you, Josiah. I shall enjoy reading these."

The teenagers (except Harry) appeared puzzled at this.

"Monty Python? What's that?" Ginny asked.

Buck seemed bamboozled by this, but remembered that most wizards didn't know what Monty Python was (unless they were muggleborn or half-bloods). "They're actually a 'them,'" he began to explain. "They are a British comedy group and are quite funny. In fact, I do believe that Ez has 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' that you can watch."

"Cool," Ron said,

"Next is to Tonks from JD," Vin sad, handing the present to the pink-haired auror.

"Thanks, Vin," she repllied. She opened the present and smiled. "A Screaming Hags shirt! Thanks JD!"

Chris looked upon the scene with puzzlement. "Screaming Hags?" he asked.

JD was ready for this. "An indie group from England. Ez told me all about them. They just came out."

"Ezra?" Josiah questioned.

"Do not ask, Mr. Sanchez. Please, do not ask."

"But Ezra, I thought that you liked the Screaming Hags?" Tonks put in innocently, knowing that Standish did indeed, enjoy the group.

Standish put one hand over one side of his face. Team seven started hooting at this.

"You'll have to lend me a copy of their cd," Vin said.

Ezra shook his head "Alas, Mr. Tanner, I do not have a copy. Perhaps in the future..."

Vin nodded. "Okay." He grabbed another present from under the tree. "To Chris from Harry."

Chris looked in surprise, then remembered all the presents his visitors brought. Larabee opened his gift. It was a long-sleeved black shirt. "Thank-you, Harry."

"You're welcome."

*****

Opening the rest of the presents had been fun; from compact disc box-sets (to Josiah from Remus and Tonks), to American Eagle gift certificates (to the teenagers from Buck and JD), to various movies being given to all of team seven. Now, everyone was having a piece of treacle tart--just one piece, so as not to spoil their dinner. They were enjoying the tarts (although Nathan found it to be a bit sweet). They were parked in front of the television, watching a movie. Of his guests, no one--except Ron and Harry--had seen Star Wars. The twins especially, were engrossed in the movie.

Chris came out from the kitchen, coffee in hand, to where Ezra and Josiah were sitting. "Turkey should be done in half an hour." The team seven leader nodded his head towards the teenagers. "The kids enjoying Star Wars?"

"Evidently," Ezra replied.

"Brother Buck found it sacrilege that they hadn't seen the trilogy."

"Well, they will now." Silence "It's nice having kids in the house. Adam would have been their age," Chris mused.

"Mr. Larabee..."

"Can it, Ezra. I'm glad they're here, and I figure so are the guys."

"I, for one, am glad," Josiah said. "Maybe we can get together before they leave."

"They would enjoy that," Ezra put in.

"When are you goin' skiing?" the Chris asked.

"In a few days," the undercover agent replied. "I intend to bring them to a few museums as well as the zoo."

"How long are you staying there?" Nathan asked, coming from the kitchen with a coffee in *his* hand.

"Four days, I should think, should suffice," Ezra replied.

"I can get your mail if you'd like."

"That would be most kind, Mr. Jackson," Ezra said.

Chris looked from his colleagues and friends, to what was before him. Kids in front of the tv, everyone watching the movie; plates and forks were in a pile next to the tree; presents all over the place; garbage bags full of torn Christmas wrap, ribbons, bows and various other packaging were by the stuffed chair. Basically, it was a mess that needed to be cleaned.

And he felt content. He hadn't felt this content for years.

Arnie was going from teenager to teenager, demanding to be petted. Right now, he was content with Ron. The youngest male redhead was scratching behind the lab's ears. Every once in a while, the black dog would whine when the petting stopped, or else he would go to someone else. In other words, his dog had adopted his guests. Chris smiled at this, as he looked out at the darkening sky through the living room window. Well, toboganning was out of the question. They would probably watch, 'The Empire Strikes Back,' and 'Return of the Jedi,' tonight as well. He'd have to find and send with Ez, some movies that the kids may like. He knew what Ez had; all he had to do was to augment that collection.

Larabee took a sip from his mug and watched the movie.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry that this took so long to get out; I lost my hard copy and had to find it. Hopefully, it's okay.

*****

"Dinner's ready,' Chris called out from the kitchen, to the people in the living room. Everyone walked into the kitchen. The first to arrive was Ron. Chris handed him a paper plate. "Help yourself, then sit down at the smaller table."

"Thanks!" Ron replied, putting a mound of mashed potatoes onto said plate.

Vin was right behind him, eyeing what Ron took. "Hey! Remember to leave some grub for us," the sniper admonished.

Ron went red at this. "Sorry," he murmured.

"What about yourself, you long-haired walking stomach! You take just as much!" Chris said to his friend.

"I'm a growing boy!"

"Yeah, outwards!" JD retorted, hearing the bantering. "Ron is still growing upwards!"

"He's going to grow taller?" Vin asked increduously. "He's taller than me!"

"Our oldest brother Bill, is taller than Ron," Ginny added.

"What does he do?" Nathan asked, putting some stuffing onto his plate.

"He works in encryption for a British bank," Ezra replied, before any of the kids answered.

"Cool," JD said, knowing--or at least suspecting--that Bill Weasley worked for Gringotts. 'As Ez says, if you have to lie, keep it closest to the truth as possible,' he thought.

Soon, everyone was seated at the tables, with their plates in front of them. After saying grace, they tucked right in. The adults (minus JD) were at the 'adult' table, while the others were at the 'kid' table.

"We don't say grace at school," Ron said to JD.

"Neither did we," Dunne replied. "I have to get the recipe for treacle tarts. They were great!"

"They're my favourite," Harry put in.

"They can be big or small," Ginny added.

JD frowned at this. "Does the size affect the taste?"

"Not really," Fred began.

"It just depends on what..." George continued.

"Treacle syrup you get," they finished together.

"Ez, you have to make more treacle tarts!" Vin announced, over-hearing the 'kid table' conversation. "In different sizes with different treacle syrups!"

Ezra rolled his eyes. "I shall take that into consideration, Mr. Tanner."

"You better! They're good!"

"They're a little sweet," Nathan mentioned.

"But that's the best part!"

Nathan shook his head.

"The British do have a way with food," Josiah mused. "So, what is your school like?"

Silence

"It's a boarding school," Ezra replied. "Instead of diplomas exams, we have 'A' levels to write."

"Hmm..."

The wizards at the kids table looked at one another, hoping that they would not be called upon to answer any questions.

"History is boring," Ron blurted out. Everyone looked at him.

"Nice to see that's consistent, on both sides of the pond," Buck laughed.

"What's boring about it? History is interesting!" Nathan said, defending history courses everywhere.

"Not with Binns," Harry replied.

"See! It's the teacher, not the course!" Nathan proclaimed.

"Someone not good?" Chris inquired.

"He does speak in a monotone voice," Remus allowed.

"He should have left years ago," Tonks added.

"You can say that again," Ezra agreed, in a meaningful voice.

"He's boring! I can't count how many times, I've fallen asleep in his class!" Ron threw in.

"Same here," Harry said.

"So have we," the twins chimed.

"I feel that it is a right of passage, for students to fall asleep in his class, at least once in their academic career," Ezra commented.

"Are you saying that even you fell asleep in his class, Ez?" Vin queried his friend.

"Unfortunately," was the reply. "Or fortunately."

"How's that?"

"Unfortunate that you had to go to class, but fortunate that you had one less class to be awake for?" Ron guessed.

Remus and Ezra laughed. "You are partially correct, Mr. Weasley. It was unfortunate in that I missed taking notes necessary for exams; but fortunate in that I did have one less class to be, 'awake for.'"

Team Seven's eyes opened widely at this admission.

"Learn something about your everyday, Ez," Buck laughed, just before putting a forkful of turkey into his mouth. He chewed quickly. "Reminds me of how I felt about math. Not even the teacher's good looks could keep me up."

"You had no problem at the academy," Chris pointed out.

"Which one?"

"Annapolis."

Buck snorted. "Pard you *know* that no one could fall asleep--or even doze off--in those classes! Besides, that was post-secondary; we're talking about *high school.*"

"Well, I never fell asleep in any of my classes!" Nathan proclaimed proudly.

"That's 'cause you're anal," Vin retorted.

Banter followed between the team seven members at this, leaving the British wizards to look on as they ate dinner.

*****

"I had a good time," Ginny announced to everyone in the van, on the way to Ezra's townhouse.

Ezra had to agree; Christmas at Chris Larabee's ranch was a success. He had been afraid that someone would let something out, but they had been fairly good. Although, Ron Weasley...

Everyone had seconds at dinner (except for Ron, Vin and JD, who had thirds). Afterwards, team seven washed and dried the pots and pans, utensils and serving bowls. Harry, Ginny, Tonks and Remus, offered to help but they were pushed into the living room, where the other teenagers had begun to watch, 'The Empire Strikes Back."

Ezra had discussed it with Chris and Remus; it was decided that they would leave at ten p.m., as the Denver area was expecting a heavy snowfall, and the rental van did not have four wheel drive.

"It was fun," Harry concurred, seeing the snow outside. "I honestly didn't expect to get more presents--even though Nathan and Ezra said we would."

"I liked the movies," Tonks said.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "It's a good thing that You-Know-Who isn't a sith lord. Could you imagine if he was?"

Everyone shuddered.

"I do not want to contemplate such an event," Ezra responded. "Let us hope that he never watches the trilogy."

"I think that it's fair to say that he won't," Remus stated.

"We have to go shopping to use those gift certificates we got," George mused.

"Indeed," replied his twin. "We get to go to a muggle mall."

"No tricks or pranks on muggles when we are there," Remus warned. "I imagine that the Americans are more stringent in their muggle-baiting charges, then we are."

"You are correct in that assessment," Standish said.

"You can say that again," Tonks concurred. "They have so many laws about that, and they don't care how old you are, either!"

"Okay, no jokes on muggles," George said.

"Or in muggle malls malls--or places where there will be muggles," Tonks furthered.

"That puts a damper on things," Fred mused.

"But we can handle it," the twins said in unison.

"It's a good thing we left when we did," Remus noted, seeing how heavy the snow was falling, outside the vehicle.

"Ezra, can we watch Monty Python tonight before bed?" asked Ron. "I'm interested in it."

"Yeah, and all those movies that Chris gave us, too!" George crowed.

"We can't watch them all tonight," Ginny pointed out. "There's something called, 'sleep.'"

Fred waved a hand. "Sleeping is over-rated!"

"Which movies did Mr. Larabee loan you?" Remus queried Ezra.

"They are in a bag further back in the van," Ezra replied.

"I have it," Harry called it. His hand rummaged around in the bag. He pulled out his wand. "Lumos." A bright light appeared. "Let's see... We have Lethal Weapon 1 to 3; Die Hard 1 to 3; and the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

Remus perked up. "The Lord of the Rings? Perhaps a little 'fellowship,' is in order."

Ezra sighed. "Perhaps. But you are to see if we have any popcorn."

"There are packets of microwavable popcorn in here too," Harry added. "Lots of it."

"What's microwavable?" George asked.

"We will show you later," Ezra answered, driving onto the exit for the highway.

Remus was right; a little 'fellowship,' was in order.

"But we can still watch Monty Python, right?" asked Ron.

Ezra sighed. It had been a good Christmas. Oh well, at least it was too late to firecall Molly Weasley about his gifts to the kids.


End file.
